Billy had a peculiar habit that Penny had noticed. She came to Moist with it, who shrugged it off.

"He's always done that. You get used to it after a while. Like him sitting by the fridge after a call from his mom, it's just something he does."

Penny didn't like Moist's explanation. It didn't account for how he could do it, let alone why. It was just something so out of the ordinary. And it was kind of creepy too. And when she noticed that he had done it with Samantha, alarm bells went off.

"You can NOT sleep standing up holding our daughter!"

"It was an accident! I swear, I didn't plan on it. It's not like I was going to drop her or anything."

"How can you be sure? You're asleep when you do it!"

"Because I've fallen asleep with Wonderflonium in my hands. Trust me, the last thing I'm going to do is drop Samantha. Believe me, that is the very last thing I'm ever going to do."

"Billy-"

"No, Penny, listen to me. It's a habit, I'm sorry. You're at work all day, I'm here at home. You come back tired, and sore, and you feed her, and you work some more. So, when she wakes up every two hours, I take care of her. Samantha keeps me awake all the time and every now and then while she's drinking I nod off."

Penny kept her stance, leaning against the counter with her arms and ankles crossed. She wanted to respond, wanted to tell him that it didn't matter, he needed to be more careful. Then she looked at him. And she knew he was right. She hadn't quite realized just how much he took "Mr. Mom" to heart. He was home all day, taking care of Sam. He was up all night, every time she whined he was at her side shushing her and warming up a bottle for her. Penny got to sleep the whole night through, she would give Sam her six a.m. feeding while Billy caught a wink or two of sleep before heading out to work at the Caring Hands.

Then when she came home, she'd cook (or Moist would, depending on how either of them felt about their day) and take over her baby for a while until they went to bed. Only to start all over again a few hours later on Billy's part. And he never complained. In the months that he had been getting almost no sleep, eating instant ramen cup-o-noodles because Bait turned off the gas before she left every morning to keep him away from the stove, he had never once said anything. And she had never noticed. Never saw until now the shadows under his eyes, the drawn smile when she came home, the hunched shoulders, the way his arms almost always seemed to be holding something even when he was just sitting on the couch. He had gotten so used to taking care of Sam there was nothing else in his world.

Nothing else in his…

Pushing off the counter Penny strode to the hidden lab. Billy had stood true to his word and made it so very child proof that it was lie proof as well. The panels were seamless with the painted hall, if Penny didn't know where they were she'd never find them. Touching the right spot, a small square about shoulder height opened up, pushing out a number pad. Which was dusty. Very very dusty, like it hadn't been touched in five months. Five months ago Samantha came home from the hospital. Three months ago Penny went back to work as an accountant for her homeless support group. Billy hadn't gone into his lab in that whole time.

"Penny?" Billy stood at the mouth of the hallway, bouncing Sammy, shoulders dropped. He knew she was mad about his falling asleep over the sink with their daughter. He reminded her of a puppy that wasn't walked in the morning and had to pee in the corner because its owner came home late. He looked sorry, he looked beaten, he looked tired. And that's why he would nod off while upright, he was tired. He had been doing everything himself, making it so the others wouldn't be burdened with a crying baby, a jobless geek… and here she was, berating him for taking a nap while holding their child.

Billy knew how to sleep upright, she had seen him hunched over his work, on his feet, asleep. Moist had grown used to it. Moist never worried about it. He never worried about anything, really. But as she thought on that, she really wished she hadn't jumped on him so much. Moist didn't worry about it. He let it happen. When Billy had shown he couldn't cook, Moist didn't worry about it, he just took measures to make sure nothing happened; turn off the gas, made sure there was non-cook food for lunch in the kitchen, had menus all over the place for take-out. But he never worried about it. And Moist never worried about his falling asleep when he was standing. He must have learned it while working in the lab, meaning he was working with things that could explode. And Moist didn't worry. Penny felt so stupid for having jumped on Billy. He was just being himself, and that's what Penny loved about him.

She closed the panel, reaching out as she tread down the hall. Billy gave her Sammy, still looking beaten. Penny cooed to her daughter, bouncing her slightly as she slept. How had life gotten so complicated so quickly?

"I don't like you sleeping with her five or more feet above the ground. But I think you've earned some sleep. I'm going to take tomorrow off. I want you to go into the lab, curl up in your chair, and sleep the whole night. And all day. You need a long hot shower, and a good meal." She kissed him, trying to wipe the confused look from his face with a grin. "You're a great mom, how about you let the daddy side of you take over for a bit."

Billy tried to protest, Penny shut him up with a kiss. So he sighed, gave an "I give up" grin, and wandered off to the bathroom for a much needed shower. Penny wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep under the water while scrubbing his hair.